Thinking ahead to Easter

 I had so much fun with those collaged hearts, I decided to make collaged Easter Eggs.  For these instead of working on old quilt pieces, I am working on recycled watercolor paper.  Right over some paintings I didnt like. 

These are two sided. I used scraps of paper napkins and tissue paper as well as vintage text pages from old books.

This cross is cardboard cut from an Amazon delivery box.  Little paper scraps were pressed into heavy gesso, then allowed to dry thoroughly.  3 D Crytal Laquer was dripped onto each paper bit to give it a raised appearance. It looks much like broken china bits now.  

I planned to do this for many years.  Finally did it and am very pleased with the results.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this old product on my shelf had not dried out.

March brings new things.

 I posted a challenge to my local mixed media group.  It has been a year since we could meet here for a play day.  But we did an online  heart challenge in Feb. With some lovely results.

In March we are creating something with the theme of HIDING. This was inspired by a mixed media piece I did years ago during a really cold foggy February.  I hid out and tried to stay warm and cozy until finally the sun came out, and so did I.  

It will be interesting how each person applies or interprets the theme. Any media, two dimensional or three, total free to express hiding in any way.   

I can hardly wait to see what people create. 

Impeachment trial is over

 It is clearly a travesty that Trump can walk away from his responsibility for the insurrection attempt at the White House.

Republicans for the most part stuck together and voted against impeachment.   Given the facts and evidence, we can see , and the world can see clearly Trumps guilt.   I am saddened by the results, but must move on. 

"Because I have known despair

I value hope

Because I have tasted frustration
I value fulfillment

Because I have been lonely
I value love”
― Leonard Nimoy

February Poem by Annette Wynne

 Little month of February,

You are small, but worthy—very!
Will you grow up like the others,
Like your sister months and brothers?
Every four years with a bound
With a leap up from the ground,
Trying to grow tall as they—
All you stretch is one small day!
Even then you're not so tall
But just the shortest month of all.

Valentine update and vaccination

 

I added the pink hearts and gold webbing spray.   Done.   

These little stuffed hearts are packaged and ready to distribute to some artsy friends.  Picture me driving around in golf cart with little dog at my side, dropping them off on porches.  

We are still maintaining social distancing and mask wearing.  I received my first covid vaccination on Thursday, the Phizer vaccine.  No ill effects whasoever.  Thanks to friends Cheri znd Cheryl for arranging this.  Since then I have had two other opportunities to receive vaccine, after waiting for weeks online and following possible leads from friends and neighbors.    

Hope you are all safe and well.   Don't you miss socializing and hugs?  I do.   

Valentines archives, have a peek

 Over on the left side of the blog page, there is an index of labels. I used to be faithful about assigning labels to make it easy to find pasts posts by subject.  Its my librarian/archivist brain.  Over the years as the system changed, I got out of the habit.   If you care to see earlier posts, scroll down to valentines and it will bring them up for you, or go to the calendar and click on a year and select February.  

I hope you visit these earlier posts as there is good stuff there.  Its quite complicated for me to try to bring them forward, so instead I am inviting you to visit and snoop around the archives. 

Valetine collaborations from archives

 One off our mixed media group projects in February, is decorating these little folded heart shaped books.  When we  get back to meetings in person again, I think we should do this every year.    Here are pages from two different years.  

As you can see, each person creates a page. We have a time limit so we don't dawdle.   Some of us prepare ahead of time so just need to cut and paste our piece into the book.  Others work from scratch.  I love looking back at these remembering the fun time we spent together creating them.

Dyed hearts

 I am in love with the Somerset Studio avacado dyed hearts shown below.

I tried avacado dying a year or so ago and it was a dismal failure and I am not willing to go to all that trouble again to colorize a few paper hearts.  So I used watercolors on cut out hearts. This is the tray (Cool Whip lid) after I picked off the hearts.  Now perhaps if I lay some tissue paper on it and give it a spritz,  it might transfer the hearts.   Hmmm.....

An old post revisted.

 

MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015

Looking for love

Every year I stumble across natural hearts in nature.     I take them as signs of love.    Here is a new one I found this morning at the senior center.    I'm doing a little sketch of it in my journal.    John had been demonstrating gold leafing and one of the gals saw my leaf and wanted to gold leaf it, but I thought it was too glorious, as is.  


Keep your eyes and hearts open for natural signs of love.     I never look for them, they just appear from time to time.      And if I'm lucky I have my camera handy.

One I missed years ago was my friend Pauline's sons' koi, a white one with a red heart on its side.   Pauline believed in  signs.   I miss her.

This is the leaf I found on a geranium growing in a small pot on my deck - a week or so ago.    Much like the following one which I found a previous year.    

I'm not sure what is eating these little holes.    I appreciate them. 

Another image I took at the senior center one year was this potato that someone brought in to share with a bunch of other veggies.



You may remember I photoshopped it and changed it to the next photo.

The Mixed Media group is going to make a collaborative Valentine booklet.   I have the pattern made and the papers folded, now just to cut them and pack up things to add to the pages that I do, one in each book.  We will be passing them around the big tables, each one decorating a page before passing it along.   At the end of the session we will each have one to take home with pages decorated by the others.

February hearts and valentines.

 

A vintage piece...... the valentine.